The Philosopher's Wife: 7 (plus 1) of Our (Current) Favorite Family Games

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We enjoy board games in our house. A lot. I'm not sure how many we own at this point. There are games in the cabinet in the library, in the trunks in the living room, in the closets, and probably more that I'm forgetting about! Family game night . . . or afternoon . . . or morning . . . is a common activity. Both Catherine, age 8, and Dominic, age 4, enjoy all eight of these games with us. (I should note, that while our youngest player is a mere four years old he has somewhat shockingly advanced game skills.) Sometimes we adjust, or bend, the rules for the kids, but not always!

1. Ticket to Ride

I'm a huge Ticket to Ride fan. It might be a little silly, but I own the majority of the series. The concept is simple enough for young players. Some of the versions are a little more challenging and there's enough strategy to fully engage everyone.

2. Ticket to Ride App

Yes, I know this is a rehash of #1; however, Dominic and I play the Ticket to Ride app almost daily so it seemed like it deserved a place of its own. When it's just the two of us it's nice to not have to set the game board up, plus I find it easier to play while nursing, cuddling, holding, and playing with the baby. The app is also a great way to play with far away family members. My Dad, who lives several states away, is able to play with us!

3. Blokus

We lucked into this game at a thrift store. The concept is simple. It's easy to learn but (somewhat) difficult to win.

4. Spot It

My husband spotted this one at a community yard sale. It's so much fun! It's a quick paced game. Do you only have three minutes? This is the game for you! When the kids were first learning how to play I would challenge myself by having to (silently) find their match before finding my own.

5. Splendor

In our family we've had the youngest player (while three years old) be the "gatherer" for one of the parents. This has worked out really well for us. Now that he's four he plays independently. We tried giving him a handicap (extra resources at the start of the game) but then he won handedly, so that had to stop!

6. Karuba

There are a few ways to make this "addictive tile laying game" a family game for everyone. We've played this successfully as a family for over a year now. At first, we had the youngest player simply line up his tiles in numerical order (since every player has his own board this won't affect anyone else's game play!)

8. Settlers of Catan

Ok, I know, it has officially been rebranded to just "Catan". But . . . they're wrong. If you absolutely must shorten it, then it should be "Settlers". C'mon. All that aside, this is simply a great family game. We've had some shockingly tight four player games.

There's one more game that I'd like to add as a +1. It's not quite the same caliber as the above games, but we've had lots of great family fun with it!

8. Pictopia: Disney Edition

This was yet another yard sale find! The questions are pretty easy, I would say too easy, but maybe that's just me. (As you might have noticed, I am a bit of a Disney fan girl, as it pops up every so often her on the blog.) The kids love being able to answer trivia questions, and it never gets too frustrating for them since so many questions are answered as a team.